James Booth Lockwood (October 9, 1852 – April 9, 1884) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer and

arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

Biography

Lockwood was born in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, to Henry Hayes Lockwood and his wife Anna. He attended St. John's College. He was commissioned second lieutenant in the 23rd Infantry of the

in October 1873. He was promoted to first lieutenant in March 1883. In 1881, Lockwood signed up for the

Lady Franklin Bay expedition * The Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881–1884 ( the Greely Expedition) to Lady Franklin Bay on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic was led by Lieutenant Adolphus Greely, and was promoted by the United States Army Signal Corps. Its purp ...

under Adolphus W. Greely, and was accepted as second-in-command. During this three-year expedition, Lockwood led a sledging party, with

David Legge Brainard David Legge Brainard (December 21, 1856 – March 22, 1946) was a career officer in the United States Army. He enlisted in 1876, received his officer's commission in 1886, and served until 1919. Brainard attained the rank of brigadier gener ...

, to Mary Murray Island, off northern

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, at a latitude of 83° 24', thus breaking the British record of the time for the most northerly point reached. In 1883, he crossed

Grant Land Grant Land is the northern lobe of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Situated on the north coast, Cape Columbia, it is the northernmost point of Canada, only 770 km from the North Pole, and was used as the final point on land for Peary's N ...

, reaching the western shore of

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island (; ) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Britain, and the total ...

. He died at

Cape Sabine Cape Sabine is a land point on Pim Island, off the eastern shores of the Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, in the Smith Sound, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. History The cape was named after Arctic explorer Sir Edward Sabine (1788–1883 ...

in April 1884, along with several other members of the party, before rescue arrived on June 22, and was buried at the

United States Naval Academy Cemetery The United States Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium is a cemetery at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. History In 1868 the Naval Academy purchased a 67-acre piece of land called Strawberry Hill as part of their effort ...

Lockwood Island Lockwood Island () is an island of the Lincoln Sea, Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. Lockwood Island is the northernmost sizeable coastal island of Greenland. The waters around the island are froz ...

in northern Greenland was named in his honor.

References

External links

* * 1852 births 1884 deaths Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery American explorers of the Arctic Military personnel from Annapolis, Maryland United States Army officers {{US-mil-bio-stub